.

Forty families in Flanders are currently in the process of adopting abroad, and 35 others have been promised they can still join. This is despite an adoption pause being in effect since the end of 2023. "The message isn't clear, and that's difficult," says Member of Parliament Freya Perdaens (N-VA).

Veerle Beel

October 28, 2025 at 11:59 PM

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The rescued infants have been handed over to Shishu Gruha, and all arrested individuals were sent to judicial remand, while police are on the lookout for the absconding parents.

NALGONDA: Nalgonda District Superintendent of Police Sharath Chandra Pawar on Wednesday announced the arrest of seven people, including a doctor, in connection with the illegal adoption of a 10-day-old girl and a 21-day-old boy in two separate cases.

Addressing a press conference, the SP said police seized Rs 20,000 in cash, seven mobile phones, and an adoption agreement from the accused. The operation was conducted following complaints filed by ICDS Supervisor Saraswathi on October 27, leading to two cases being registered.

Three police teams traced the families who sold and bought the babies, along with intermediaries — including Dr Matta Shanthi Priya, who allegedly brokered the deals.

In the first case, Kurra Babu, a mutton shop worker, decided to give away his newborn daughter after his wife delivered a baby girl. He contacted Dr Shanthi Priya, who facilitated the illegal adoption to Kadali Samba Murthy and his wife for Rs 2.3 lakh. Police arrested the doctor, who later confessed to mediating between the couple and Kurra Babu after learning of his willingness to sell the baby.

Kasaragod: A childless woman who illegally adopted a newborn boy and raised him as her own for four months had to give him up after an Anganwadi worker and an ASHA visited the biological mother’s house and found the baby missing. It was a harrowing day for the adoptive mother in her mid-50s, clutching the child to her chest, sobbing, begging not to be separated, threatening to end her life, first before the police and then before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

She was inconsolable, shattered, while the biological mother stood indifferent, refusing to take the child back, said a CWC official. By evening, the boy was “rescued” and handed over to a foundling home in Kasaragod, in line with the law, but crossing a woman’s maternal love. “I don’t know how she will sleep tonight. The baby was bonding well with her,” said the official, who found the day equally traumatic.

The woman told the CWC that she had turned to illegal adoption after her formal application to adopt a child was rejected, citing that she was financially unfit. She is a homemaker; her husband is a daily wage labourer. In 2015, the Kerala government introduced a rule requiring prospective adoptive parents to have an annual income of at least ₹3 lakh. Even those who meet the income requirement, officials say, can later be deemed ineligible during a social investigation for the same reason. “The rule is discriminatory irrespective of its intent. Nowhere else in India does such a financial cap exist,” said the CWC official.

The woman’s secret began to crumble when the Anganwadi worker, responsible for the health, nutrition, and well-being of pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children under six, visited the house of the biological mother near Kumbla, 12 km from Kasaragod town. When she enquired about the child, the woman fumbled and avoided giving a clear answer. Sensing something amiss, the Anganwadi worker alerted the local ASHA and together they approached the Kumbla police.

During questioning, the mother confessed. Her first husband had died, leaving her with two children. Later, she married a man who already had a wife and children and worked in a restaurant in Bengaluru. Four months ago, she gave birth to a boy. “In the first week itself, the child was handed over to the other woman. They must have come to an understanding even before the birth,” said the CWC official.

The Madras High Court recently held that in case of adoption of an unmarried woman's child, an adoption deed executed by the grandparents would be valid, when it is shown that the mother had concurred to such adoption. “The mere fact that the grandparents of the child had executed the adoption deed alone cannot make the adoption deed invalid so long as the adoption deed was...

https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/madras-high-court/madras-high-court-grandparents-executing-adoption-deed-not-invalid-mother-concurrence-308195

Many recent events have emphasized the need for investment in the social service workforce. My trip to India to participate in the launch of a social work training program was one event that highlighted the importance of this profession and how critical social workers are in making positive changes in child care systems.

India: On the Road to Alternative Care


I recently visited Delhi, India to participate in the International Symposium on Family Strengthening at Jamia Millia Islamia University. This two-day symposium convened professors, social workers, early child development students, and leaders in government and nongovernment sectors who are concerned about protecting children, especially those living outside of family care. The symposium celebrated the inauguration of India’s first National Resource Centre in Foster Care. The Centre is headed by Dr. Meenai, a well-respected social work professor who has a wealth of expertise in the field of child development.

Madhavi, head of the UK-based foster care agency, Liberty Fostering, enthusiastically explained the details of recruiting, screening, and providing ongoing training and support for foster families, as well as the placement of children and the supervision of placements.

I watched the audience pose serious questions such as:

• How does one deal with foster families that are different castes or religions from the child, the biological family, or the social worker?
• Could fostering be accepted as a legitimate way to assist vulnerable children, or would there be a stigma associated with it that would prevent families from wanting to get involved?
• Who and how would we begin to recruit families? Who would be responsible for and supervise them?
• How could a program like this be funded?
• Do foster parents get paid to provide care?
• How would foster care fit into the limited existing child protection framework?

Adoption is not a fairy tale: why adoptees are critical of new VRT program

Korean adopted children arrive at Schiphol Airport on February 21, 1972. Many international adoptions were accompanied by fraud, including in Belgium, writes Lien Lammar.Source rv / Spaarnestad

Adoption is rarely a bed of roses, writes freelance journalist Lien Lammar. She wants more understanding for the harsh reality that adoptees face.

This article was written byLien LammarPublished on October 24, 2025, 3:00 AM

For the past six years, Karen has lived in Missouri with her adoptive parents. But a Guatemalan couple are convinced the child is their kidnapped daughter, Anyelí.

By Erin Siegal McIntyre

It’s unclear how the two-year-old broke her femur, Dr. Napoleon Castillo Molinedo told me. The Guatemalan pediatrician regularly saw the child, identified as “Karen Abigail Lopéz García” in his office records, for check-up appointments and vaccinations. Firing up a weary PC, the doctor retrieved Karen’s old records, printing out a list: ten visits in the first seven months of 2007 alone.

The adults who brought the toddler into Castillo’s office, members of the Bran family, were in the business of children. More specifically, they provided what most Americans call “foster care” for Guatemalan kids during their adoptions to mostly American families. According to Castillo, the Brans “didn’t overflow with love for the kids.”

 2025:KER:18299WP(C) NO. 4509 OF 2025                               1          IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM                            PRESENT               THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE C.S.DIAS WEDNESDAY, THE 5TH DAY OF MARCH 2025 / 14TH PHALGUNA, 1946                     WP(C) NO. 4509 OF 2025PETITIONERS:    1    AMMU AJIT         AGED 43 YEARS         W/O SANTHOSH R.V, VRINDAVAN, DIWANS ROAD, NEAR TDM         HALL, KOCHI, MG ROAD, ERNAKULAM, KERALA, NOW         RESIDING AT FLAT NO. 5054, PRESTIGE NEPTUNE'S         COURTYARD, MARINE DRIVE, KOCHI, PIN - 682018    2    SANTHOSH RV         AGED 44 YEARS         RESIDING AT FLAT NO. 5054, PRESTIGE NEPTUNE'S         COURTYARD, MARINE DRIVE, KOCHI, PIN - 682018         BY ADVS.         A.PARVATHI MENON         P.SANJAY         P.K.MURALYKRISHNAN         BIJU MEENATTOOR         PAUL VARGHESE (PALLATH)         KIRAN NARAYANAN         RAHUL RAJ P.         MUHAMMED BILAL.V.A         MEERA R. MENONRESPONDENTS:    1    CENTRAL ADOPTION RESOURCE AGENCY         REPRESENTED BY IT'S MEMBER SECRETARY & CEO,         MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT, WEST BLOCK         8 WING 2 1ST FLOOR, R.K PURAM, NEW DELHI, PIN -         110066                                                    2025:KER:18299WP(C) NO. 4509 OF 2025                                  2     2    STATE ADOPTION RESOURCE AGENCY          REPRESENTED BY IT'S MEMBER SECRETARY, DIRECTORATE          OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, POOJAPPURA,          THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695012     3    CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE          ERNAKULAM, RERESENTED BY IT'S CHAIRMAN, 287R+MGC          BORSTAL SCHOOL, SEAPORT - AIRPORT RD, ECHAMUKU,          KUNNUMPURAM, PADAMUGHAL, VAZHAKKALA, KAKKANAD,          KOCHI, KERALA, PIN - 682037     4    DISTRICT CHILD PROTECTION UNIT          ERNAKULAM, REPRESENTED BY CHILD PROTECTION          OFFICER, CIVIL STATION, THRIKKAKARA, KAKKANAD,          KOCHI, KERALA, PIN - 682030     5    PREM CHANDER          S/O SUNDARAMOORTHY, SAKTHI VEEDU, KIZHAKKETHARA,          KUNNISERY POST, ERUMAYUR, PALAKKAD, NOW RESIDING          AT 1 C, SURYA APARTMENT, FLORICAN HILL ROAD,          MALAPARAMBA, KOZHIKODE, PIN - 673009          BY ADVS.          RAJESH SIVARAMANKUTTY          K.V.ANTONY(K/522/2015)          VIJINA K.(K/229/2016)          ISAAC GEORGE(K/000586/2017)          ARUL MURALIDHARAN(K/000853/2018)          GOVERNMENT PLEADER SMT. VIDYA KURIAKOSE          DSGI SRI.T.C.KRISHNA     THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSIONON   28.02.2025   THE    COURT   ON   05.03.2025   DELIVERED   THEFOLLOWING:                                                 2025:KER:18299WP(C) NO. 4509 OF 2025                                3                                                   "C.R"                     C.S.DIAS,J.     ====================            W.P.(C)No.4509 of 2025    ------------------------------ -        Dated this the 5th day of March, 2025                         JUDGMENT

1. The petitioners' case, in brief, is as follows:

(i) The first petitioner was married to the fifth respondent and a son was born in their wedlock on 13.3.2007. Their relationship got strained, which led to litigations.

Eventually, by Ext.P1 judgment passed by this Court, the marriage between the petitioner and the fifth respondent was dissolved on mutual consent, and all the cases between them were dismissed. As per the terms of the compromise, the permanent custody of the child was given to the first 2025:KER:18299 WP(C) NO. 4509 OF 2025 petitioner, and interim custody of the child was given to the fifth respondent.

(ii) Later, disputes again arose between the parties regarding the child's custody, which was settled by Ext.P6 judgment passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court.